Retailers asks court to stop Toronto's bag ban

The City Council passed the ban in June, and it is expected to go into effect in 2013, with the start date either Jan. 1 or July 1. A committee has approved bylaws for the measure, but the City Council still has to give final approval Nov. 27, the newspaper reported. An effort by the city’s mayor to overturn the measure failed in October.

The ban would be applied to shopping bags, but provide exemptions for bulk and frozen foods.

“The bylaw selectively exempts dozens of plastic bags but targets a single type of bag, the one that many family-run convenience stores rely heavily upon,” the Ontario Convenience Stores Association CEO Dave Bryans told the newspaper.

The association has asked a court to prevent the city from implementing the law.